Blind
by Allume a Pense
Summary: [oneshot] 'Please,' he beseeched again. 'I know you can. I know you see me perfectly.' It was a freak accident that left her alone in the dark. TG


**Author's Note: **Recently, as it seems, I've become progressively famous for my oneshots. This makes for a very happy Kat. I'm sure you, the readers, will be happy to know I've matured in my sense of writing and …my vocabulary has been profoundly expanded.

The next story to be updated is Hello Chair, it's Me, Troy. So for now, please review and make me happy?

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_That I loved you more than you'll ever know  
A part of me died when I let you go_

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It had been a freak accident that nobody could've foreseen. It was unrealistic, it couldn't ever happen; it baffled people by the very idea of something so absurd becoming tangible reality. And yet, it happened, straight from no where. But as quickly as it had come, it had gone, and left its scar for one to feel the pain and the anguish. Just one to suffer.

The brunette scowled, an open palm pressed to the mirror as she felt for a crack or imperfections in the reflective glass. She blinked slowly once, her gaze distant and unamused. Pulling her slender hand back from the cold glass, she ran it over a smooth cheek and around the bridge of her nose. The skin had once held a geography of scars, but has since healed. There was only one scar left now, and no one on the outside could feel it.

Gabriella Montez listened well to the creaking floor below her feet, taking a cautious step forward. Her foot immediately ran into a bookbag. The seventeen-year-old bent down to pick it up, her hand barely grazing its rough texture, as she picked up the strap and dropped it down onto the shoulder. Feeling her hair find its way into her eyes, she brushed it away from her face and headed in the direction of her door, reaching for the brass handle and pulling it open. It was another day at school, her first day back from the hospital, and she was excited as ever.

Scowling when she stumbled over a stair, Gabriella quickly regained her confidence and footing as she took more vigilant steps downward until the heel of her mary-jane shoes touched the linoleum flooring of her foyer. Her mother was waiting in the corner – Gabriella could tell. Ms. Montez was strongly doused in her nectarous perfume this morning. Gabriella didn't smile; she knew her mother was so keenly scented because of her undying pity for Gabriella. Without saying a word to her, Gabriella reached a hand out to the front door; opening it and leaving it open for her mother to close.

The drive to school was also quiet; Ms. Montez didn't dare to utter a word to her daughter. After what happened 3 weeks ago, Gabriella didn't want to talk to anyone. Not even Troy. It seemed as if with Gabriella's new disability, she felt as if she wasn't worth talking to anymore and was merely saving the drama and trouble of others. She'd sit in her room, forlorn to the point of insanity, simply staring that blank stare out her balcony door and into the black night. Ms. Montez sighed, her knuckles turning white from gripping the steering wheel. It would seem as if Gabriella had simply given up on life.

When Ms. Montez pulled the car up to the curb, she instantly parked it and hurried around to the other side of the car, hastily yanking open Gabriella's car door. The girl inside didn't mutter a somber thank-you, but stepped outside into the brisk air of late fall. Ms. Montez placed a warm hand on her daughter's shoulder, but Gabriella only shrugged it off. Hurt and confused, Ms. Montez led the solemn girl to the front steps by making her footsteps loud.

Gabriella focused on her mother's heels clicking against the concrete. She kept her eyes forward and her hands by her side, until she heard the steps transform to a different sound …as if her mother were walking on slate. She must be going up stairs. Reaching out for a railing, Gabriella also led herself up the stairs to the entrance of the school, pushing open the glass door. The roar of the student body met her ears and her pink lips barely curled into a satisfied smirk. Everything was dark.

"I have her new schedule right here," Mr. Matsui's familiar voice filled Gabriella's ears. She turned herself to the direction of the sound. "She'll have a student assistant for awhile. I'm sure she won't be disappointed in who it is."

The voice ended with heavy, clumsy footsteps. He must be walking away, Gabriella alleged inwardly. Again pursuing her mother's short, nervous breaths and strong scent, the sound of familiar voices filled her ears as they neared her homeroom. She stopped in what she thought was a doorway, for the warm sunlight from the opposing wall's windows were shining onto her face. She didn't even have to cringe in reaction to the bright light. Gabriella could make out a small thumping noise that sounded as if someone were pounding a desk – she concluded it was Chad bouncing a basketball. Small clinks echoed to the right of her, followed by a strong, abrupt voice saying something about a chemical reaction. That was Taylor.

Noticing the sweet smell of her mom had disappeared, Gabriella took a step into homeroom, listening and smelling all the people already there. There was Kelsi in the back of the room, tapping a pencil against a desk and her foot against the floor. She knew Kelsi always did those two things simultaneously when writing. There was Darbus in her sparkling thespian glory, muttering disapproving comments in her desk up front. And of course, there were the muted but heavy footsteps approaching her. That, was Troy.

"Gabriella!" the brunette could hear him cry excitedly. Quite expectedly, the strong feel of his muscular arms wrapped around her waist. Soft lips gently pressed against hers, and for the first time that day, Gabriella smiled. It was pathetic – her face was bright and smiling, as normal as the old Gabriella had been, but inside she was mourning. She wished Troy would show those beautiful blue eyes. "You don't answer your phone calls, your mother said you were in the hospital," he paused. Gabriella heard him swallow a statement on the tip of his tongue. "What happened?"

Thinking about her answer carefully, Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes. She tried as hard as she could but she still could not see what she was looking for. "I was hurt." She said all too simply. Dissatisfied with the small answer, Troy frowned, a line in his brow becoming deeply defined. Gabriella felt his body tense, then release. "I'm okay."

Troy ran a calloused hand over her cheek. Gabriella shut her dark eyes, savoring his warm feeling. Troy knew something was wrong – he could feel the scars etched into her at-first-glance smooth skin. They had simply faded but there was something missing, something still bothering her. "Are you sure?" he asked, genuinely concerned. "You seem different somehow."

"I'm the same," Gabriella muttered off-handedly, opening her eyes to the same blank stare. She was looking into his eyes, but she was looking behind them, it felt. Troy glanced long and hard into them, his grave stare normally making Gabriella shudder, but all it did was make her smile. She thought this was funny, in her twisted way of humor.

"You're lying," Troy said softly. Gabriella jerked her cheek away, stumbling over a desk but catching herself mid-fall. Troy took a step towards her, and before Gabriella could analyze anything he was about to do, Troy wrapped an arm around her tiny waist, and ignoring her squirms and Ms. Darbus' scolding, Troy pressed another, stronger kiss to her lips. Upon pulling back, he again stared right at her, but still got the same deadpan gaze. This time, it came with a blink. "You can't see me …" he realized, his voice cracking in parts.

"I," Gabriella paused, tears rushing to her blind eyes, "I can't see anyone …"

Troy shook his head furiously, refusing to believe it. He let go of her waist, her notoriously warm body moving slightly away from her hurt boyfriend. "Why didn't you tell me?" he said quietly, barely audible through the loud classroom. Gabriella shook her head, blinking back a few empty tears, unable to answer his question. "Why Gabriella? I could've helped you. I would've given you mine,"

"It's not that easy!" she cried, her voice abrupt and cracking from hours and hours of no use. "There was nothing anyone could do. The doctors said it was permanent," she paused, her breathing becoming shallower with every shaky word. Her throat tensed for a moment and she felt the small rush of air graze her face – Troy had reached up to run a hand through his hair. Her loss of her sight caused a considerable amount of focus on her other remaining four senses.

Troy cupped her cheeks in his, staring right down below into those empty, vacant eyes that could no loner be filled with admiration. He couldn't something so beautiful and so amazing couldn't see …it made him shake with frustration. He knew somehow she could see him. Somehow, deep inside, she knew he was tearing up and his lips were quivering. "Look at me," he begged her, his voice raspy and worn, "Please, Gabriella, see me …"

Gabriella was silent. She felt the glaze of her eyelids swipe over her eyes but she _could not see_. Nothing but black, nothing but the scar of the freak accident. Troy's body shook violently with sadness threatening to come rushing out. She could only give him one thing – a sympathetic smile, the only physical manifestation she could muster that showed she _knew_ what he looked like at all times. But it wasn't enough for Troy.

"Please," he beseeched again. "I know you can. I know you see me perfectly."

"I do," Gabriella pulled back from his arms. Her hand felt around until it sensed the warmth glowing from his skin. She took his hand in hers, running her thumb over the surface of his skin, her gaze downcast. "I see you. Right," Gabriella paused, letting go of Troy's hand. She reached up and placed her open palm to her chest.

"Here."

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